


A Pot of Green Tea

by Lia_Margy



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: ????? I guess ?????, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Don't you love it when you forget that your crush is your enemy, Gay Zuko (Avatar), M/M, Memory Alteration, Mistaken Identity, No Beta we die like Zhao, So what, The Dai Li (Avatar), There Is No War In Ba Sing Se, i still don't know how to tag, may end up being slowburn idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-11-20
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:21:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26435602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lia_Margy/pseuds/Lia_Margy
Summary: Zuko gets caught by the dai li while he does his blue spirit-ly business and gets brainwashed. He doesn't remember much about his life as a prince, or that he even had one, but gosh, that blue-eyed boy from his dreams sure is familiar.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 34
Kudos: 98





	1. Oh shit, Dai li

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Good For One Cup of Ginseng Tea](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24423238) by [IcyPanther](https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPanther/pseuds/IcyPanther). 



Zuko kicked and fought when they took him. He’d cried and yelled and begged, praying to Agni that the earthbenders who’d caught him wouldn’t hurt him.  
He struggled and squirmed and tried to break free, but in the end they cuffed his arms behind his back and held him tighter, and though Zuko tried his best, he still found himself in a dark chamber, strapped to a chair, staring into the eyes of the head of the Dai Li.

As the lantern began to turn, Zuko stopped struggling, only repeating, "I'm Lee, I'm a tea server," over and over, as if this were all a terrible dream and that maybe he would wake up and it would be true, he would be Lee, a tea server living in Ba Sing Se with his uncle. Not some disgraced prince who chased an impossible dream of going home.  
Zuko's cries softly died out and he wished for nothing more to just be lee, not Zuko, to never have to be Zuko again, to be anyone else.

The older man in front of him kept speaking. Zuko couldn't hear what he was saying, the words not making any sense. The man was trying to insist something, but Zuko couldn't hear the words. He could only hear the noise.

Zuko didn't understand.

But Lee did.

Lee heard this man, and understood his words. He was just stating the obvious, wasn't he?

"You are Lee, a loyal citizen of Ba Sing Se." The man said. Lee looked up. Obviously the man thought he didn't realize that yet, so all Lee had to do was tell the man that he knew who he was.

"My name is Lee, I am a loyal citizen of Ba Sing Se."  


The Dai Li kept Lee until morning.

Once the sun had risen, they sent him off — with an agent following to make sure he got to his destination safely, of course — to his home.

Tired and a bit confused at why he’d even been out the night before, Lee arrived at his apartment. He tried to open the door but quickly realized that he'd been locked out. He knocked on the door, hoping that perhaps his uncle would still be home.

When nobody answered, he figured that his uncle must have gone off to work.  
Lee would have to wait. He sat down, leaning against the door, and sighed.

He’d stayed up all night last night, and he simply wanted to sleep.  
  
Lee fell asleep against the door. He hadn’t meant to, but he was so tired, and although the position was uncomfortable, Lee couldn’t help but nod off.  
All it took was a single blink. He’d told himself he’d rest his eyes for just one second, but he opened his eyes and saw… Not the busy streets of Ba Sing Se, that was for sure. 

Instead, Lee found himself standing in front of a village in the middle of a snowy tundra. In front of him, a young man with a painted face, tan skin, and his hair puled up into a wolf tail crouched.  
He wore a blue parka and was holding something close the the floor. Lee struggled to recall who this young man was, but he could definitely tell that they were acquainted.

The boy was staring at Lee with an expression of… Now that he thought of it, Lee couldn’t quite make out his face.

He realized that the boy was in a fighting stance, as if he were about to charge at Lee.  
This was alarming; Lee couldn’t think of a reason why he would be fighting this boy, unless…

Ah! Of course! That made sense. 

The boy’s face cleared up, and now Lee could see a cocky grin and challenging blue eyes. Lee returned the grin and prepared himself just before the boy rushed at him, raising a club and yelling as he tried to bring the club down at Lee.

Almost as if by instinct, Lee brought his foot up and kicked club away, before raising his leg again and landing a kick to the boy’s head, knocking him over. The boy fell to the floor, rubbing his head, and Lee felt a pang of guilt.  
Had he hit too hard? This was only a bit of fun roughhousing, Lee figured, so maybe he shouldn’t have aimed for the head. The boy groaned and Lee wondered if he should go into the village and find a healer. He turned his gaze to the village, and only now did he realize how small it was. Lee felt strange.

He wasn’t sure what this emotion was. Where had he seen this village before? Lee’s pondering was interrupted by the blue-eyed boy yelling again and trying to swing the club at him again. Lee dodged, although he wasn’t sure how he’d done it so easily, and the boy fell to the ground again.  
Stepping forward, Lee went to give the boy his hand to help him get up, but the boy rolled away. 

He rose an eyebrow at that, amused by the yelp that escaped the blue-eyed boy. Had he thought that Lee was going to attack him while he was standing up? He almost felt hurt at that.

Before he could let his feelings be known, the boy threw something at Lee. 

Lee whipped his head around to see what it was that the boy had thrown, but given that the boy had missed anyway, Lee turned back.

Suddenly, the boy had a spear. Now where did he get that? The boy charged once more, a determined look on his face which was quickly quelled when Lee found himself grabbing the end of the spear and after ripping it out of the boys hands, breaking it in half and using the blunt end to hit the boy on the forehead thrice before breaking that part of the spear as well.  
As the boy rubbed his forehead, Lee hissed softly in sympathy, knowing that the boy’s head would hurt later.  
Lee noticed as the face paint began to come away when the young tan-skinned boy rubbed. 

Lee stood over the boy, a fond smile on his face. How was it that he hadn’t remembered who this boy was, and how could he have forgotten his name?  
Before he could try to recall the boy’s name, Lee heard something cutting through the air behind him, and he felt something hit the back of his head.

Now this pissed him off. It was a boomerang! He wasn’t aware they were using boomerangs! Besides, why did the other boy get all these weapons?! This was just unfair!

Lee’s thought process was cut off when a young boy in orange and yellow clothes walked past him towards… Lee turned around, and all of a sudden, the chill in the air was gone.

In it’s place was hot, blowing smoke, and Lee was faced with flames, higher and larger than he had ever seen. He turned to run, but he felt something grabbing his face. 

A Hand. 

A _burning hand._

Lee struggled against the hand, trying to wrench himself out of the grip, but it only held on tighter and tighter until—

“Zuko!”

Lee shot awake. He breathed heavily and realized that he was no longer alone next to the door of his apartment. Beside him sat his uncle with a distressed looking on his face.

“Zuko! You are okay! You were simply having a nightmare! You need to breath. “ The older man whispered. Lee wasn’t quite sure why his uncle called him Zuko, but he was finally here, and everything was okay. Lee thought back to the dream, but decided that it would be better to focus on the here and now. Lee looked out to the streets and saw that the light had dimmed considerably, and Lee realized that he’d been asleep all day, and that Uncle must have found him once he got back from the tea shop. Eventually his breathing slowed, and he managed to give his uncle a shaky smile.

“Good-… Good evening uncle.”


	2. Oh shit, Uncle Mushi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh is worried for his not-son,  
> "Lee" is confused,  
> "Lee" and Iroh have a talk and "Lee" would be worse at bullshitting if I wanted Iroh to be the one to get him to remember his other stuff.

When Iroh woke up and found that his nephew was gone, he simply couldn’t help but worry. Iroh knew that Zuko left every night in disguise to do Agni knows what; He’d done it since they arrived at Ba Sing Se. 

Iroh knew this, and he was well aware that Zuko would likely not stop doing it, even if his beloved uncle asked him to, so he let it happen, and it quickly became a habit to check that Zuko was in bed in the morning— So you can see why Iroh would be worried when his daily rush of relief didn’t come.

He waited as long as he could for Zuko to come back, but in the end, Iroh had to leave for work. Upon arriving at the tea shop, Pao, the owner, asked after Zuko—well, he asked after Lee—so Iroh simply told him that Zuko was ill and that he would need a few days off. 

Pao conceded, and the day went on as normal.

The sun had begun to set when Pao approached and told Iroh to leave early to care for his nephew. 

“Are you sure?” He asked, hopeful as Pao took the teapot Iroh was filling up. 

Pao nodded, reassuring the old firebender that he’d be able to handle the last few hours on his own.

As he walked home, Iroh prayed to Agni that Zuko would be back. He remembered the Dai Li from the Siege on Ba Sing Se, and he knew that within the city they were notorious for taking those who were sticking their noses in the wrong places. Iroh feared for his nephew, for he knew that he was the kind to stick his nose in the wrong place, and a masked figure in black running around the city would definitely attract attention from the Dai Li. Hi was unsure of what would happen if Zuko were to be caught, but he was sure it wouldn’t be good. 

The tension that had built up in his stomach as the day progressed finally loosened a bit when Iroh saw Zuko asleep at the door of their apartment. 

Iroh would have shaken Zuko awake, but as he approached, he realized with a pang of sorrow that the young boy was flinching in his sleep. 

This was not an uncommon occurrence; Iroh knew that Zuko had nightmares regularly, and most of them had to do with his banishment.

Iroh rushed over and began quietly urging Zuko to wake up.

“Good-… Good evening uncle.”

Lee groaned as he sat up straight.  
He was definitely going to try to avoid sleeping against the door again.

“You may have noticed, but,” Lee winced he nodded towards the door, his neck sore from the strange angle that it’d been in for the last few hours, “I forgot my key.”

Lee felt relief as his uncle’s look of concern melt into a warm smile, and then confusion as uncle frowned at him.

Regardless, Uncle Mushi unlocked the door and they both stepped inside. 

As Lee shut the door, Uncle Mushi set to making some tea, which Lee didn’t entirely understand. They worked at a tea shop, for goodness sake! You’d think he’d be tired of tea and anything tea related by now.

“Is something wrong, Uncle?”

“Zuko… Where were you this morning?” 

_Why is Uncle calling me Zuko?_

“I know you’ve been going out at night.” 

That couldn’t be right, Lee had no reason to be out at night.  
“I haven’t been going out, why would I do that?” Lee replied, hoping that Uncle wouldn’t think he was lying. _I mean, I’m not lying really, but how do I prove that?_

Uncle Mushi looked over his shoulder at him with a disappointed frown. Lee shrank back a little, shrugging.  
“And why do you keep calling me Zuko?” Lee continued, feeling that he wouldn’t be able to focus properly if he kept getting thrown off by this. 

__

Uncle obviously didn’t expect that question, having turned around fully to look at lee with an odd expression. Lee stared back at Mushi, raising an eyebrow.  
Uncle Mushi slowly turned around. It took him a full minute to reply. 

“Would you rather I not call you that?” He asked with a strangely careful tone. 

“Well, it was just confusing me, but if you’d like to keep calling me that, well,” Lee twitched where he stood, “I was just curious, that’s all.” 

Uncle seemed to think this was strange, although Lee couldn’t figure out why, but neither of them brought up the name again so he thought nothing of it. 

“Back to what I was asking you,” Uncle sighed, "Why were you out last night?” 

Now that he thought of it, Lee wasn’t entirely sure of that, himself. The Dai Li mentioned a curfew in the upper rings, which is why they detained him (although Lee was unsure if that was how curfews worked), but that only brought up more questions: _What was I doing in the upper rings of Ba Sing Se last night? How did I get there? Why don’t I remember getting arrested by the Dai Li?_

“I was just getting some fresh air,” Lee started tearing through his mind in a near-futile attempt to find an excuse for his absence, “And I suppose I wandered too far and-“  
This was bad, Lee could tell already that Uncle wouldn’t believe him for a second. Why was he even lying? It’s not like his excuse was more realistic than the reality. But who on earth forgets why they went out into town at night?  
“I got lost! And then when I found my way back, the door was locked and I was so tired that I fell asleep waiting for you.” 

There was a moment of silence as —And Lee just _knew_ this is what Uncle was doing— Mushi tried to get himself to believe what Lee had just told him. 

“… Well I’m glad you’re alright.” Uncle muttered as he stepped away from the counter with the tea and sat with Lee. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest, I had a lot more planned for this chapter, but I didn't wanna keep y'all waiting, so here you go!
> 
> (guess who struggled greatly with iroh)  
> (she has two thumbs)  
> (and issues with writing wise levelheaded characters)
> 
> (it me)


	3. Oh shit, revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh is still worried and confused  
> Lee comes to a realization

What does one do when one’s beloved nephew comes back from a shifty midnight escapade with seemingly no memory of his own name? 

That was the question Iroh was currently asking himself. If it were anyone other than Zuko, Iroh would have been very worried, but it was Zuko, so on top of his concern, Iroh was also burdened with having to sift through the possibilities.

One of which was not a very pleasant possibility. 

Iroh and —Well, he would stick to calling his nephew Zuko, since he hadn’t been provided an alternative— Zuko sat and sipped tea in silence. Zuko had seemed a bit hesitant about drinking the tea, which was out of the ordinary for Zuko, since his normal reaction was to hesitate a lot, meaning that he would shout about his distaste for tea loudly and passionately.  
Due to this, the older man could not enjoy his tea as he would usually do. 

No he could not enjoy his tea, he was too busy contemplating why Zuko couldn’t seem to recognize his own name. At the moment, he only had a few ideas, and he’d made a mental list of them, ranked by the order in which Iroh thought of them.

#1. Zuko, like the theatre-loving young man he was, decided to employ method acting as “Lee” to improve his every day act. ( _Possible _, Iroh thought, _But strange that he should start now and not tell me)___

____

#2. Perhaps Iroh had not been paying attention and missed an important announcement from Zuko, perhaps one where Zuko would reveal that he was not Iroh’s nephew but perhaps a niece? Perhaps Zuko had given Iroh another name to call him(?… Her..? …. Them…?) and Iroh had forgotten? ( _No, Zuko would not just mention that in passing while I’m distracted. Unlikely, although something to consider in the future _)__

______ _ _

#3. Perhaps his earlier concerns were somewhat truthful. Iroh had seen some Dai Li close to the apartment, and though he’d tried to brush it off, he could not help but realize that Zuko had not returned with the mask. Nor had he come in through the window as Iroh assumed he normally returned. Which brought him to Zuko’s excuse. Iroh knew that Zuko knew that Iroh knew that Zuko’s excuse was Komodo Rhino shit. 

______ _ _

There had been rumors of refugees that spoke out about the War going missing and then returning with no recollection of the war they’d been speaking of previously. 

______ _ _

Iroh so desperately hoped that they were only rumors. 

______ _ _

They were not rumors. 

______ _ _

______ _ _

______ _ _

Lee tried to ignore his uncle’s peculiar gaze, but seeing as they were sitting right in front of each other, he was having a difficult time not looking Mushi in the eyes. Minutes turned into hours as they discussed small things that barely registered in Lee’s mind. 

______ _ _

He tried to pay attention, but he would always find his thoughts going to his dream. He avoided the last part, deciding that he could unpack that later, focusing instead on the blue-eyed boy.  
Who was he? Lee could barely remember his name— It definitely had an A, right? But it started with a C, no, a Z? Or maybe an S? He couldn’t remember. All he remembered were those striking blue eyes— And that grin. 

______ _ _

Lee excused himself after Iroh asked him for the tenth time that hour if he was listening. 

______ _ _

He went to bed early since his nap earlier didn’t rest him at all, and as he laid there, his thoughts went right back to the boy. From the fuzzy information Lee could remember from who knows where, he figured that the boy must be from one of the Water tribes.  
The dream must have taken place at one of the Poles, then. 

______ _ _

As he tried to recall the Water tribe boy’s name, he discovered other memories that he didn’t realize he had. 

______ _ _

______ _ _

It was late at night. 

______ _ _

The trees swayed in the wind as Lee climbed up into the ruins of… something. A temple perhaps? Lee couldn’t remember. 

______ _ _

He was looking for something… What was he looking for? He knew it was definitely nearby, he just knew it, all that was left was to… To what? Lee was looking for something, but that was all he knew.  
He reached the end of his climb, and producing a light, (Was it a torch? The memory surrounding the light was fuzzy), wandered into the ruins. 

______ _ _

Illuminated by orange light, two figures laid, rested against a larger, fluffier mass, huddled in fur lined sleeping bags.  
Lee approached, holding the light higher so it would reveal the figures’ faces. As he got closer, he heard dazed mumbling from the sleeping bags. 

______ _ _

With a gasp, he realized that one of the figures was the water tribe boy. This time, his face was free of paint, and his blue eyes that had seemed clear and determined in Lee’s last dream were now glassy and unfocused. 

______ _ _

“Momo?”  
Lee jumped, having forgotten about the other person. He turned towards the other sleeping bag, and saw a girl who looked remarkably similar to the water tribe boy. Her eyes the same stunning blue and her skin the same tan as his. 

______ _ _

Seemingly in response to the girl, who Lee assumed was also from the water tribe, the water tribe boy passionately grumbled something, although his words were too muffled to understand. 

______ _ _

“Who’s Momo?” Lee tried to ask. They looked sick, maybe Momo was a healer?  
The girl ignored his question, instead asking, “Did you bring water this time?” 

______ _ _

Lee shook his head and was about to ask again, but the little clarity that the girl had seemed to have faded, and she was quiet again. 

______ _ _

Lee knew he had to bring water. It was only right, seeing as “Momo” was nowhere to be seen and these two obviously needed it. But as he recalled where the last body of water he saw was, something in his mind seemed to stop, and he remembered. 

______ _ _

Lee was looking for something. He had to find it. 

______ _ _

But these people needed water, and surely whatever he was looking for could wait, right? 

______ _ _

No. He needed to find… 

______ _ _

He needed to find… 

______ _ _

Why should he find something he didn’t even remember? Surely it couldn’t be too important if he’d forgotten, and he needed to get water for… 

______ _ _

Who were these people again? 

______ _ _

The water tribe boy with the boomerang and club was….  
S…. 

______ _ _

His name was… 

______ _ _

It started with an ’S’, for sure. 

______ _ _

What was the rest? S... 

______ _ _

_Whatever. What about the girl?_

______ _ _

The girl who’d called him “Momo” and asked for water was…. 

______ _ _

Her name… 

______ _ _

Ta..? 

______ _ _

It was certainly better than just ’S’, it was a full syllable!  
Ta…  
Ta… 

______ _ _

Tara? 

______ _ _

That must be it! 

______ _ _

Lee needed to get water for Tara and… 

______ _ _

The water tribe boy’s eyes cleared for a moment, staring Lee right in the eyes. After a moment, there was gasp as “S”s registered Lee’s presences  
“…—ko?” 

______ _ _

______ _ _

Lee quickly came back to reality as “S” spoke. The boy’s one nearly understandable word seemed to prod at his brain. 

______ _ _

Tara, S, Ko? 

______ _ _

Why couldn’t he remember these things? 

______ _ _

And why didn’t he remember how he’d been arrested? 

______ _ _

... 

______ _ _

Lee’s breath became shallow as he realized... 

______ _ _

He whispered below his breath:  
“I did something stupid last night, didn’t I?” 

______ _ _

______ _ _

He’d done something stupid and hit his head, and now he’d lost his memory. That had to be it, right? But he could still remember his uncle, among other things. Maybe he didn’t hit his head that bad then. 

______ _ _

Discreetly, Lee reached up and felt his head, searching for a sore spot, and found one on the back of his head. Sure, it felt more like he’d been pressing his head against a wall, but it was something. 

______ _ _

Lee’s fears were confirmed. 

______ _ _

_How am I going to tell Uncle about this!?_

______ _ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> zuko baby you're so close yet so far,,,,
> 
> also I hope the iroh bit was alright, i needed to get the whole "he's thinking about it" point across 
> 
> Please Assume That If I Write "Zuko" Instead Of Lee During Lee's POV Then I Probably Mean "Lee"
> 
> Zuko's sore head is because of the mood wiping chair thing, I'd like to think that it took a while, and having stone right up against your head would probably leave a sore spot.
> 
> I actually didn't plan on Lee thinking he had amnesia, but he ran away from me, and like a smug cat comes home with a mouse, returned with that. I hope you like it.
> 
> Please stay safe! Corona is still a thing!  
> If you are a minority! Good luck! I live in a very spread out suburban area so I haven't had to confront a lot of salty trumpists but if you're in an area where you do have to do that, please be careful! I know it's been a bit since Election Day but people are hella persistent! Love y'all! 
> 
> until next time, which will probably be in another month, farewell :)

**Author's Note:**

> hehe, I hope you enjoyed that little bit of it. unlike my other works I am going to try to finish this one! I swear! anyway yeah constructive criticism is appreciated! I could definitely improve but I'm not sure how, so any help with pointing out errors would be wonderful! 
> 
> I hope y'all have a wonderful day, and please be safe!


End file.
